Paper short abstract:

The paper will analyze quality labels involving shepherds, to understand the points of view of different actors - shepherd, activists, institutions- involved in the processes of labellization and to understand the connections between shepherd, associations and market.

Paper long abstract:

The field of quality production and quality labels is extremely conflictual, a field in which forms of regulation, political logics and economic practices interact. During the last decade, Slow Food has invested more and more in the field of production extending its sphere of action from consumers to producers through projects, activities and media battles. The manifesto of raw milk, the "cheese resistance" campaign or the "presidia" of milk, are some of these projects involving shepherds. What drives shepherds to adhere to these projects? What is their role and their interest within these campaigns and projects? How the interests of one or the other interact? Products and political projects of protection and promotion, "presidia" are also economic projects subject to specific forms of regulation. The analysis allows us to observe the points of view of different actors - shepherd, activists, institutions- involved in the processes of labellization to understand the connections between the association and the market. This paper is based on ethnographic work carried out within the Slow Food movement in Italy and France from 2007 and on the analysis of some cases of French and Italian (Sardinian in particular) "presidia".